HICKORY, NC -
Danielle Barnes (Coopersburg, Pa./Southern Lehigh) went 5-for-7 with an RBI and two runs scored on the afternoon as the Bloomsburg University softball team split a pair of games at Lenoir-Rhyne University Saturday afternoon. The Huskies cruised to an impressive 11-1 victory in game one, but were unable to complete a seventh inning comeback in a 3-2 game two loss.
Bloomsburg was red hot right out of the gates in game one, notching nine runs in the first three innings of play.
Erin DelPierre (Harrisburg, Pa./Central Dauphin) got the scoring started in the top of the first with a single that brought home Barnes and
Taylor Winkelman (Springfield, Pa/Springfield), and
Emily Getz (Hagerstown, Md./North Hagerstown) followed with an RBI double to extend the Huskies lead to 3-0 after one. Bloomsburg added two runs in the top of the second on a pair of RBI singles from DelPierre and
Marissa Shelhamer (Bloomsburg, Pa./Central Columbia), and a four-run third inning would give the Huskies a 9-0 lead after three. Barnes, DelPierre, and Shelhamer all had runs batted in for Bloomsburg in the inning.
The lead reached double-digits in the top of the fourth when
Sammi Starr (Berwick, Pa./21st Century Cyber Charter) belted a two-run homer off Kimberly Blair that gave the Huskies an 11-0 lead. Mackensie Swain looked to key a Lenoir-Rhyne rally in the bottom half of the inning with a solo blast to center, but Bloomsburg hurler
Abby Wild (Collegeville, Pa./Perkiomen Valley) shut the door with a scoreless fifth to notch the victory. Wild was excellent in the circle for the Huskies, striking out seven and allowing just one earned run on three hits in five innings of work.
DelPierre was 3-for-4 with three RBI and a run scored in game one, while Barnes was 3-for-3 with an RBI and two runs scored. Shelhamer went 2-for-3 with two RBI and two runs scored, and Starr went 2-for-2 with two RBI and two runs scored.
The Huskies took an 1-0 lead in the fifth inning of game two when
Annika Gemberling (Denver, N.C./East Lincoln) scored on a wild pitch, but the Bears would tally three runs in the bottom half of the inning to take a 3-1 lead. Mackensie Swain had the big hit in the rally, knocking in two runs with a double to left center that scored Savannah Moorefield and Talon LaClair.
Bloomsburg attempted a late rally in the top of the seventh when DelPierre laced a two-out double to left that scored Winkelman, but Lenoir-Rhyne pitcher Brandi Parks would work out of the jam to record the win for the Bears.
Barnes went 2-for-4 in game two, while DelPierre went 1-for-2 with a run batted in.
Tara Baney (Howard, Pa./Bellefonte) got the start in the circle for the Huskies in game two and surrendered three runs on five hits in 4.1 innings of work.
The Huskies have won three of their last four games, and are now 4-7 overall on the year. Bloomsburg returns to action this Wednesday, March 20, with a doubleheader at Shepherd University. First pitch with the Rams is set for 2:30 p.m.
